Floating pump



July 23, 1968 c. P. HERMAN 3,393,643

FLOATING PUMP Filed Dec. 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WIM!! M I I N VE NTOR.

C/J af/@S f? Herman BY )6U/Jg vf Thom/050D Arrow/YS July 23, 1968 c. Pv. HERMAN 3,393,643

FLOAT ING PUMP Filed Dec. 23, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR.

37 Char/es Herman United States Patent Oice 3,393,643 Patented July 23, 1968 3,393,643 FLOATING PUMP Charles P. Herman, Rte. 2, Rogers, Ark. 72756 Filed Dec. 23, 1966, Ser. No. 604,322 6 Claims. (Cl. 103-87) The present invention relates to floating pumps, particularly of the type designed to float on a body of liquid from which the pumped material is drawn, thereby to impel the liquid toward a point remote from that supply body.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a floating pump which will be relatively simple and inexpensive to construct, easy to assemble, operate, maintain and repair, and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a floating pump according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side cross-sectional view of a floating pump according to the present invention, showing its operative position on a body of liquid;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective View, with parts broken away, of a lower portion of a pump according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown a pump indicated at 1 comprising a pump casing 3 in the form of `a pair of opposed spaced parallel horizontal circular plates 5 interconnected by a cylindrical or helical scroll 7 that forms a peripheral border for a pump chamber. The assembly of plates 5 and scroll 7 is held together by removable bolts 9. Pump 1 has a vertically disposed axial inlet 11 in the form of a conduit that extends downwardly, and a peripherally disposed radially outwardly extending outlet 13 which extends horizontally. Outlet 13 includes an upwardly extending portion 15 and a further outwardly horizontally extending portion 17. Instead of being radially disposed, outlet 13 can be tangentially disposed, but in any event is disposed peripherally of casing 3. Inlet 11 and outlet 13 communicate with the interior of casing 3.

A motor 19 for driving pump 1 is provided, which is carried by and on top of pump casing 3. Motor 19 has a downwardly depending drive shaft (not shown) which is rotatable in a drive shaft sleeve 21. The drive shaft of motor 19 thus drives a centrifugal-type pump rotor (not shown) disposed within casing 3. The rotor may be of conventional squirrel cage configuration, or may be an airfoil type of rotor as disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 458,115, filed May 24, 1965.

The pump is carried by and secured coaxially to a wheel 23 of an automotive vehicle. In fact, a conventional wheel 23 may be used in the present invention without modication. As is well known, automotive vehicle wheels have an outer side and a brake drum side; and in the present invention, the outer side is disposed downward and the brake drum side is disposed uppermost, with the pump secured to the brake drum side. Wheel 23 carries a pneumatic tire 25 which may be of the tubeless type or which may include an inner tube (not shown). When the pump is in operative position, tire 25 may contain air under superatmospheric pressure. Alternatively, tire 25 may be deflated in the sense that the air inside is at atmospheric pressure, so long as the natural stiffness or resiliency of the tire casing maintains the tire casing in the same general shape as when the tire is inated, so that the pump assembly will be made to float by virtue of the buoyancy of the tire. To this end, it is necessary that the tire be sealed from the liquid to the extent that the tire cannot lill with liquid and sink. Wheel 23 has a central web 27 with the usual central opening 29 therethrough that accommodates the axle when the wheel is on a motor vehicle. In the present invention, however, inlet 11 passes downwardly through that central opening of web 27 and is externally screw threaded. A lock nut 31 is internally screw threaded and is in screwthreaded engagement with inlet 11 below web 27. Lock nut 31 is provided with opposed handles 33 for turning it and has a tapered upper surface 35, which is preferably conical, that engages with the underside of the margins of central opening 29 of web 27 when lock nut 31 is screwed to its uppermost position. In that uppermost position, lock nut 31 clamps the marginal edges of opening 29 between tapered surface 35 and the underside of pump casing 3, thereby securely to h-old the pump ou wheel 23.

If desired, a further conduit 37 may be secured to the lower end of inlet 11, thereby to vary the vertical distance below the pump at which liquid will be drawn into the inlet.

In operation, the pump of the present invention is simply floated on the surface of the body of liquid from which the pump liquid is to be withdrawn. The inlet extends a short distance below the surface of the liquid, and from FIG. 2 it will be obvious that the pump accordingly maintains its prime. Moreover, the inlet depth remains constant no matter how much liquid is pumped, for the pump falls as the liquid level falls. Therefore, the inlet can be disposed immediately below the surface of the liquid so as to avoid taking in oating debris, but at the same time to avoid sucking up mud from the bottom. It is accordingly possible to dispense with the usual inlet strainers.

The mode of attachment of the pump to the wheel is such that lwheels of various sizes with various sizes of central openings can be used. The taper on the lock nut accommodates to any of -a variety of wheel sizes in this respect. Moreover, the manner of attaching the pump to the wheel ensures that the pump will be self-centering on the Wheel and hence self-balancing.

The outlet connection to the shore or other point remote from the body of liquid not only provides for pump discharge but also provides a means for tix-ing the pump against rotation. A freely floating centrifugal pump with a vertical axis would soon be caused to rotate at a substantial speed with a corresponding drop in pumping efliciency.

It has also been found that the whirlpool problem has Ibeen solved by the present invention. The whirlpool problem is the phenomenon that a submerged inlet is accompanied by the formation of a whirlpool above the inlet, despite the fact that there is apparently no rotating member to gener-ate a whirlpool. The whirlpool sucks air below the surface of the liquid, and sometimes into the inlet itself with a resulting loss of prime of the pump when the air reaches the pump. In the present invention, however, no whirlpool forms, apparently because of the vi-bration or oscillation of the floating pump under the impetus of its motor and particularly when an internal combustion engine is used for the motor.

Finally, the economy and convenience of being able to use any discarded -automobile Wheel and tire as a principal component of a floating pump will be readily apparent.

In view of the foregoing disclosure, therefore, it will be evident that the initially recited object of the present invention has been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may 3 be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the inveritio,` as those skilledin this art will readily understand. Such modieations and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the present invention as defined bythe appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A floating pump comprising a motor vehicle wheel having a pneumatic tire thereon, a rotary pump having its axis upright kand coaxialwith the wheel and tire, the pump having a casing mounted on top of the Wheel and having an linlet conduit extending downwardly through the wheel, .and a pump motor mounted on and above the pump easing, the pump having an outlet conduit extending outwardly beyond the tire.

2. A floating pump as claimed in claim 1, said inlet conduit being coaxial with the wheel. l

3. Aoating pump as claimed in claim 2, said inlet conduit being externally screw threaded, and a lock nut on said'inlet conduit below the wheel and having a tapered upper surface to permit securing the pump casing 'within wheels of different dimensions.

4, A oating pump as claimed in claim 1, said motor being an internal combustion engine.

5. A floating pump as claimed in claim 1, said outlet conduit extending from the casing upwardly and over the tire. i

6. A o'atingpump as claimedl in' claim 1, the brake drum Side of the wheel being uppermost.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,920,371 s/1933 Franke. 3,086,472 4/1963 Lorenzetti. 3,273,507 '9/1966 Hanafofd.

' FOREIGN PATENTS 853,368 12/1938 France.

HENRY F. RADAZQ Primary Examiner. 

1. A FLOATING PUMP COMPRISING A MOTOR VEHICLE WHEEL HAVING A PNEUMATIC TIRE THEREON, A ROTARY PUMP HAVING ITS AXIS UPRIGHT AND COAXIAL WITH THE WHEEL AND TIRE, THE PUMP HAVING A CASING MOUNTED ON TOP OF THE WHEEL AND HAVING AN INLET CONDUIT EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH THE WHEEL, AND A PUMP MOTOR MOUNTED ON AND ABOVE THE PUMP CASING, THE PUMP HAVING AN OUTLET CONDUIT EXTENDING OUTWARDLY BEYOND THE TIRE. 